Motor-vehicle transmission mechanism



F. -M.. mcmo IO'I'OR VEHICLE TRANSMISSION IECHANISI May 1, 1928. 1,668,210

med May 25 1926 s sh ets-sheet, 1

May 1, 1928. 1,668,210

' F.'. M. KI NCAID IOTOR VEHICLE TRANSIII'SSI-ON MECHANISM Filed May 25. 1926 s Sheets-Shet 2 fl/I May 1, 192a 1,668,210 F. M. KINCAID IOTOR VEHICLE TRANSIISSIOII IDOIIAIISI v Filed M25. 1925 3Sleets-Sheet 3 the mountin Patented May 1, 1928.

UNITED STATES' 1 PATENT OFFICE. I

I FRANK M. KINCAID, OF YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO RELAY MOTOR PRODUCTS CORPORATION, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, A

CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

MOTOR-VEHICLE TRANSMISSION MECHANISM.

lpplicationlflled May 25,

to the driving wheels from the source of mo-' the power.

This invention more specifically deals with of the load carrying springs on a drive s aft housing, which in turm is swingably supported from a centre axle, and permitting'the use of leaf springs of conventionul design that arev more nearly flat under load, placing them above the centre axle in such a manner that they 'willnot interfere with the movements of the" centre 'axle when it is erforming its functions, there being consi erable relative motion of the centre axle with respect to the driving axle and the springs.

In this invention I have made a simple and strong construction and yet allow for all functional motions and clearances, and

have in many ways improved details of desi and construction. 7

ith the above and other objects in view, my invention consists of the arrangement, combination and construction of the various .5 elements of my improved. device as described J in the specifications, claimed in myclaims and shown in the accompanymg drawlngs, in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation, partly in section, of the entire axle construction includingwheels and tires.

' ig. 2 is a section taken on line Fig.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of" F1? 1. 1 ig. '4 is a side elevation of the rear por-' tion of the vehicle chassis with the near wheel removed to disclose the relative location of the axle elements intheir normal po- SitiQn. I I I Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the rear-portion of the vehicle chassis with the near ,wheel removed to disclose the relative location of the axle elements when an obstacle is encountered and thewheel momentarily stops.

. In the drawings, ll is-the dead or' load carrying axle, constructed in one solid ieoe.

j throughout its length. On the ends 0 the .bush-ing 40 within the liner.

1926. Serial No. 111,476.

dead axle 11 are mounted the anti-friction bearings 30 and 31 and on these bearings the hub 18 rotates. The wheel body 14 is mounted on the hub 18 and is held securely thereto by the stud bolts 20 and the nuts 21. On the wheel body 14 is mounted the rim 13 which in turn carries the tire12. The brake drum 15 is secured to the wheel body 14 by the bolts 16 and the nuts 17. On the flange of the hub 18 is mounted the internal gear ring. 26 by means of a series of rivets 27. This ermits the gear ring 26' to be made of forge .steel or any metal different from the wheel body 14, besides making replacement of the gear ring possible-without replacing the entire hub structure. 1

The large spider casting 28 is rigidly attached to the dead axle 11 by means of the keys 29. To the spider 28 are attached the brake shoes 22 by the anchor pin 23 and the brake operating cam 24. Cam 24 and its shaft are integral and .to it is attached the brake operating lever 25. In the lower portion of the spider 28 is an opening having I a rotatable eccentric liner 39 therein with a Within the bushing 40 the drive shaft housing 38 is free to rotate, but is restrained laterally by the collar 41 which is held firmly against the flange 43 by the bolts 42, which extend into the spider 28 through the end flange of the liner 39 and thus serve the double purpose of lockin the liner 39 against rotation and securing t e collar 41 against axial movement. The drive shaft housing 38 extends across the axle from wheel to wheel and the end constructions are the same in either wheel. In the outer ends of the housing 38 are the anti-friction bearings 37' which support the drive shafts 50 and 51. On the ends of these drive shafts 50 and 51 are fastened the driving pinions 35. The fastening in this construction is effected by splines and nut 36. The pinion 35 accurately meshes with the ring gear 26 on each-wheel, the

eccentric liner 39 being turned to varythe I as determined by the ratio ofthe number of teeth in the pinion 35 and the ring gear 26.

It follows that if the wheel meets with ro tative resistance, and motive power is applied to the shaft 50, the pinion 35 will start to climb up around the inside of the ring gear 26 and carry with it the entire drive shaft housing construction. This is possible because the spider 28 can rotate on its axis and carry the dead axle 11 with it, the dead axle rotating within the hub on the wheel bearings. During this climbing effect, the drive shaft housing 38 will rotate on its cen:

' ter with respect to the spider 28, because of its freedom of rotation within the bushing 40 which is provided for this purpose. Since thereis a duplicate spider 28 on each side of the axle unit, and since each spider is keyed to the dead axle 11, it follows that an tendency to climb on one side will be du licated and synchronized on the other side. It will be noted that if this climbin motion has taken place, a downward load imposed on the drive shaft housing will, by reason of the force of ravity, exert a turning force on the inside of the rin gear 26, tending to urge the wheel forwar and this force will be in addition to the rotative force of the pinion '35 tending to transferits rotative torque to the ring gear 26. As soon as the housing again swings down to its lowermost position, the driving action is then alone effected by the transfer of power from the inion 35 to the ring ear 26. In normalaction, the moment a sight additional resistance to the rollin of the wheels occurs, they slow up and t e climbing effect takes place to assist the" forward motion of the vehicle, -very 62 much likethe well known treadmill or squirrel cage.

To impose the vehicle load on the drive shaft housing, thearched perches 32 are rigidly attached to the housing 38 by means of the bolts 33. These arched perches 33 are shaped as shown in Fi 2 and 3, so that they clear the dead ax e 11 in its extreme positions as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5.

Motive power is transmitted to the shafts 50 and 51 from the gear. case 68 through the universal joint 67, pro eller shaft 65,

and universal joint 66 tot e bevel pinion- 52, which in turn transfers its torque to the bevel gear 45. Bevel gear is rlgidly ate tached to a conventional diflerential 44, in which are splined the shafts and 51.

Integral "with the arched perches 82 are' the bosses 58, to which are attached the radius rods 63 by the ins 59, and the radius rods are hingedto t e chassis frame 62 at the brackets 64. The leaf springs are attached rigidly to the arched perches 82 by means of the clips 69 and plates 70. The springs are connected to the frame 62 at eachend of each springby means of the shackles 61. I

It will be noted that the radius rods 63 maintain the shaft and gear 52 in an ap proximately horizontal posit-ion at all times, thus maintaining practically a constant universal joint angle. All drivin forces tending to move the vehicle fox-war or backward are transmitted to the chassis frame through the radius rods 63, because the springs are shackled at both-ends and thus free to move longitudinally to correct any slight longitudinal motion of the arched erch 32 caused bythe arcuate path of the ro s 63 where they attach to the perch 32 at the pin 59.

An examination of the Figs. 4 and 5 will disclose the relative positions of the elements when in a position of rest as shown in Fig. 4 and after the climbing action has occurred as shown in Fig. 5. It will be seen that when an obstacle is encountered and the wheel momentarily stands still, the climbing action previously described, takes place and the vehicle chassis is actually moved forward, whereupon the weight of the vehicle combines with the torque of the driving gears to roll the wheel over the obstruction and to its original relative position as shown in Fig. 4.

The'clearance space in the arched perches 32 is sulficient to take care of all normal needs, but when extreme conditions are encountered, the dead axle comes in contact with the inner loop of the arched perch 32 and thereby limits further and unnesirable motion. Anytendency of the housing 38 to rotate about its center in resisting gear torque is transferred to the leaf springs 60 wh ch in turn will cushion and resist this torque through the shackles 61 to the frame .It should be noted that because the housing 38 is mounted below the axle 11, the climbing tendency will'be in the right direction to assist in drivin the vehicle either forward or backward wlth equal facility.

Since the brake shoes 22 are anchored to the spider 28, it follows that when the brakes are actuated, the contact between the shoes 22 28 in the same direction as the rotation of the wheels, thus causing the drive shaft housing to virtually climb up around the dead axle in the correct direction to permit the weight of the vehicle to add to the retarding and the drum 15 tends to rotate the spider and useful construction 4 changes 1n detail may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the theory of m invention, an I do not care to limit myse f to any particular form or arrangements of these elements.

What I claim is:

'LAshafth ,lad mpp tedsprin vaxle, an aperture in said 3. In combination, a vehicle frame, a shaft I housing, arch shaped spring perches mounted on said housing, load supporting springs mounted on said perches and secured to said frame, an axle paralleling said housing and swin ably supported in relation thereto within the arch of said perches, radius rods connected at one end to said frame and at the other end to said perches, wheels on said axle, and a power transmitting shaft within said housing and operatively connected to said wheels.

4. In combination, a dead axle, .a wheel rotatably mounted on the end thereof, a-

from said member fixed on and depending member, an eccentric liner in said aperture, a shaft extending ing through said liner,

justing the position of said pinion through said eccentric liner;

5. In combination, a relatively non-rm tatable dead axle, an axle housing rotatably supported by said dead axle therebelow and rotatably mounted for bodily movement thereabout, and perches secured to said housin vextending upwardly about said dead ax e both forwardly and rearwardly thereof for supporting load carrying'springs whollg above said dead axle and for limiting sai rotary movement of said housing about' -said dead axle.

6. In combination, a dead axle, a supportmember fixed to each end thereof, a wheel rotatably supported on each end of said axle, an o ning in each member eccentric to and be ow said axle, .a housing extending between said openings rotatably received therein,

flange :on each of said liners, a housing exten a pinion on'said shaft, a. gear concentric withsaid wheel and adapted ,fixedto each end of said hon to mesh with said pinion, and means for adhousing in locking said liners against inadvertent rodriving shafts rotatably received within said housing each provided with a pinion on the outer end thereof, an internal gear on each of said wheels meshin with the corres onding of said pinions, and a erch for lo carrying springs secured to orwardl and rearsaid housing and extending above said dead axle, said perchesbei provided with por-- .tions extending both wardly of said dead axle providing stops for limiting movement of said housing about f dead axle, a sup 61-13.

said dead axle as-a center by contact thetm,

ing member fixed to each end thereo an opening 111' each of said members eccentric to said dead axle, an eccentric liner received within each of said openings, a peripheral mg between said members rotatabl received within said liners, and'ineans for ock ing said liners against rotation and said;-

housing against axial, movement. p

8. In combination, a dead axle, a member fixedtoeach end thereof, an opening in each of said members" axially parallel to said deadaxln' and eccentric; thereto, an eccentric liner provided with a peripheral flange rotatably received within each of said openings, 1. housing extending between said me bers rotatably received within said liners, a collar relationship with said peripheral collar rotatably positioned on each said housing inwardl means 000 1am for limiting axial-"movement of said t to said members and for tation.

9. In combination, an axle member,l a wheel secured thereto. a housing normallg positioned below .said axle member an,

M; mom).

sing,'inflabutting v t s a end ot. of. said collars, and rating with ,said rotatable col- 1 from a point above said I Y 

